E3 2016 Conference Hub – June 12-16

E3 is essentially a video game version of a candy store. All of the big companies come together to show off their biggest secrets and tempt you to buy. If you’ve been watching for years then you know what to expect. If you haven’t, then you’re in for a roller coaster of epic moments, epic fails, and cringe inducing commentary.
Last year had a surge of new conferences that were far more than expected. This year it has scaled down a bit, but some of them are back once again. If you’ve adjusted to the usual schedule then be sure to read below. EA has broken with tradition and jumped to the first conference. They’ve also decided to not hold a booth on the show floor and instead booked a location across the street for the general public. An even bigger change is Nintendo completely skipping the conferences and not even showing a Nintendo Direct. They will be streaming from the show floor all week, but don’t expect any big reveals.

Going into this conference the elephant in the room will be Microsoft and Sony’s rumored upgraded consoles. Sony has the 4.5 code named Neo, which is all but confirmed, with upgraded technology. Microsoft has an upgraded slim they will likely announce, followed by a code named Scorpio model to come at a later date. If Microsoft follows tradition, then the slim model will be announced at E3 and be available in stores the same day. There was another price drop, which ends the day before Microsoft’s conference, so they may be trying to clear stock in advance. The PS4 will have PlayStation VR at some point so an upgraded model may be needed to work with it. Same goes for Xbox with HoloLens or an attempt to get it to work with the Oculus Rift or other VR tech. Nintendo is staying out of this entirely. While we know they have the NX in development, they have confirmed it will once again not be shown at E3 this year.

Links may not be directly to the content so I will be updating them when they are available, if I can. This will likely change several times before the event starts. Have a great E3!

What to expect: A lot of the conferences are going to be streamed on Twitch so the main channel will likely cover them. I haven’t seen if they are the official broadcaster still, so this isn’t exactly nailed down as a good source.

When: Tree House LIVE Stream begins on Tuesday, June 14th at 9AM PT, 12 PM ET.

NOTE: Nintendo will not be holding a conference or Nintendo Direct. Instead they will be streaming from the show floor every day, with a focus on The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo has confirmed the NX will not be shown.